Prejudices
by Cenlyra
Summary: A newgen fic. I've got some OC's in here, mainly because I wanted some people who weren't related to the Weasleys/Potters. Obviously, prejudices haven't died after the second war. How does a new generation deal with them? Rating may change later.
1. The Hogwarts Express

**A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or his kids or nieces and nephews or anyone else that Jo made up. Some characters are mine, though, so I do own them. Also, I may have made up some of the kids' ages and houses, and stuff, but... **

**By the way, this is a Newgen fic, meaning, for those of you who don't know, it centers around Harry's kids, Hermione and Ron's kids, et cetera. Please r/r. It makes me a better writer.**

**Anyway, Chapter One: The Hogwarts Express.**

"Come on, Al," James shouted impatiently to his younger brother. "If we hurry, we can sit with Roxie and Lucy. Hey, Rosie!" This was directed to his cousin. "Hurry up, will you?"

Albus followed his brother without question; so far, Hogwarts was James's territory much more than his. Rose, however, stayed behind, sneaking a glance at Scorpius Malfoy, who was beginning to look thoroughly depressed.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked him after a minute.

"I'm fine," he tried to say, before bursting into tears.

Rose was at a loss for words; the blond boy crying shocked her into silence. Before she finished debating with herself whether or not to give him a hug, however, he sniffled and wiped away his tears.

"What's wrong?" she finally tried again.

Scorpius sighed and started talking. "It's just… I don't know; everyone's going to hate me. Because of my dad. 'Cause he was on the Death Eaters' side and…" He tried to keep from crying again.

"You know," Rose said to him, "my mum always says you can't judge a book by its cover."

Scorpius smiled in spite of himself. "What's that mean?" he asked.

"Oh, it's a Muggle saying, 'cause she's Muggle-born, you know," Rose explained with a laugh. "It means like you shouldn't judge someone before you get to know them."

At this point, their conversation was interrupted by Rose's cousin James, who had returned to look for her.

"Rosie!" he shouted, quite unnecessarily, considering the fact that he was two feet away from her. "Are you coming or what?"

She glared at him in such a Hermione-ish way that he swallowed and quickly backed away.

"If you don't hurry, all the seats will be taken," he explained. He looked back and forth between Rose and Scorpius for a moment, and then said to him, "You can come too, if you want."

Rose smiled at Scorpius and gestured for him to follow her.

The compartment to which James led them was nearly full. Louis Weasley, the third child and only son of Bill and Fleur, lounged on the seat across from Fred, George's son. Louis seemed to have inherited enough of his mother's looks to make him into a male version of a veela; he was very popular with the girls. Fred, darker than the other Weasleys, owing to his mother Angelina's complexion, was as much a prankster and fun-lover as his father and his namesake. Fred's younger sister, second-year Roxanne, however, was very studious and was even now poring over her new schoolbooks. Lucy Weasley, Percy's third-year daughter, was explaining some of the finer points of second-year Herbology 

(her favourite subject) to Roxanne, who nodded absentmindedly.

Albus was sitting in a corner of the compartment, staring out of the window. There was just enough room for James to squeeze through to sit by his brother and Rose and Scorpius to sit together across from them.

"So," Louis started nonchalantly, "who in here's a first year?"

"Me," answered Rose immediately, seconded by Albus.

"I am, too," replied Scorpius a second later.

"What house do you guys think you'll be in?" Fred asked them seriously.

"Gryffindor, right?" James teased.

Louis gasped in shock and then argued, "No way! Hufflepuff's better."

"Wait a minute!" Rose said, nodding to Scorpius. "He doesn't even know who we all are. We should all introduce ourselves. Look, I'll start. I'm Rose Weasley, and I'm a first year."

"Okay," said the blond Weasley. "I'm Louis Weasley, I'm a fourth year, and I'm in Hufflepuff."

"I'm Lucy Weasley," said the girl sitting next to him. "I'm in my third year, and I'm a Ravenclaw."

Everyone turned to stare at Roxanne, who was completely oblivious to the conversation surrounding her. When she looked up, she glanced at everyone confusedly until Lucy had pity on her enough to say, "We're introducing ourselves, Roxie."

"Oh," the dark-skinned girl said softly. "Roxanne Weasley. Second year. Hufflepuff, like Louis. Your turn, bro," she finished, with a glare to Fred.

"Fred Weasley. I'm Roxie's brother. I'm fourteen, starting my fourth year, and I'm in Gryffindor, like my mum and dad were."

"James Potter," announced James proudly. "I'm in Gryffindor, 'where dwell the brave at heart.' Like my mum and dad, and most of our family, until all of them-" he nodded toward the four Weasleys closest to the door "-came along. Oh, and I'm a second year."

The green-eyed boy by the window looked to the seat opposite his. "I know we're doing this for you. The rest of us know each other. I'm Albus Potter. I'm a first year."

"I'm Scorpius… Malfoy." He winced, as if afraid someone might hex him.

"And he's a first year, too," Rose finished for him.

"So," Fred asked again, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"I want to be in Gryffindor," Rose said. "Dad said he'd disown me if I wasn't. He was joking, I think, but…"

"I want Gryffindor, too," said Albus, "but it might be cool to be in Slytherin. You know, just because none of the Weasleys or Potters, I don't think, were in Slytherin for generations. And my dad said it didn't matter to him whether I was in Slytherin or Gryffindor."

"I'll be in Slytherin," stated Scorpius matter-of-factly. "All my family have been for a long time. 

But I don't know if I want to be."

"My dad said that the Sorting Hat considers your choice, too," Albus told him.

"No, it doesn't," interjected James.

The brothers glared at each other for a minute. Then Roxanne spoke again.

"Are you sure?"

Albus nodded. "Yeah, Dad said it let him choose Gryffindor over Slytherin."

"And my mum said that it almost put her in Ravenclaw," added Rose.

"Well," Scorpius said after considering what the other first years told him, "I don't know what my parents will say if I'm not in Slytherin. Dad was really serious about it."

Rose looked at him for a minute, thinking about what he said. Then she clapped her hands excitedly. "I have the perfect solution!" she shouted. "You can be in Slytherin, and Al and I will try to get in too, so you won't be without friends."

"Hey, that sounds good," Albus agreed.

Scorpius smiled. "I think I'd like that."

Their conversation was interrupted by the approach of the food trolley. After several minutes of debating, each person in the compartment got something different to share with the others, and they laughed and teased all the way to Hogwarts.

Victoire walked in when the Hogwarts Express was nearing its destination. Bill and Fleur's eldest daughter was Head Girl at Hogwarts this year, and she considered it her mission to meet and befriend all the first years by the time the train reached Hogsmeade.

"I'm Victoire Weasley," she announced to everyone in the compartment as she opened the door. "I'm a seventh year, in Gryffindor, and I'm-"

"Head Girl, we know!" interrupted Louis with an exasperated sigh. He rolled his eyes at Scorpius and explained, "My older sister. She's absolutely _devoted_ to being the best Head Girl in history. She's been driving us crazy all summer."

"-Head Girl," Victoire finished. The only indication she gave that she heard her brother was a glare. "Now, what are your names?"

The older students just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Albus said, "You know us already, Victoire."

"Yeah," Rose chimed in. "Why are you asking us stupid questions like that?" She laughed at her eldest cousin, and the others in the compartment, with the exception of Scorpius, laughed with her.

"Just humour me," Victoire shouted angrily. "Can you at least manage that?"

Rose rolled her eyes at Scorpius before innocently saying, "I'm Rose Weasley."

"Albus Potter."

"Scorpius Malfoy," muttered the blond boy.

"Really?" Victoire seemed pleased. "So you know Teddy, too!"

"Lupin?" Scorpius questioned before breaking into a huge smile. "Yeah, he's my, like, second cousin or something." He paused for a moment as he ran through his family genealogy. "Yeah, second cousin. My grandma and his grandma are sisters. He's nice."

"Well, he's my boyfriend," Victoire told him, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Cool," Scorpius replied.

"Anyway," Victoire started again, suddenly businesslike, "I don't know what you've heard from your parents about how Hogwarts was when they were there, but it's different now. The house rivalries, you know, like Gryffindor and Slytherin, are gone now. Well, nearly gone. We're all friends, pretty much, and we don't always sit according to house tables. So whatever house you're in, you could easily meet people at your table from any of the other houses. Houses no longer stand in the way of friendship, and neither does blood status, if you're wondering. Anyway, I'll talk to you later. Bye."

And with that, Victoire left the compartment. The eight students in there weren't left alone for long, though, because the two other Weasleys, who had seen Victoire leave, both barged in within a minute.

"Sorry if my sister bothered you," said the older of the two girls. "She's absolutely crazy."

"By the way," the younger added, "She's Dominique, sixth year, in Ravenclaw."

"Not that it matters," Dominique argued before turning back to Scorpius and nodding toward her cousin. "She's Molly, fifth year, and she's in Ravenclaw, too."

Scorpius grabbed his head with both hands and jokingly moaned, "I'll never remember any of this. I'm horrible with names."

"You're a Malfoy," Molly pointed out, tossing her long dark hair. "Draco Malfoy's kid, then."

"How do you know?" asked Scorpius, amazed.

"It's obvious," remarked Roxanne in her soft voice. "It's all in the expression."

"You know what would be cool?" asked James, determined to have all the attention focused on him. "If we could be Animagi."

"That makes no sense," said Dominique.

"Yeah," Molly agreed. "We weren't talking about anything like that."

"Yeah," James said defensively, "well, I was thinking about it."

"How," asked Scorpius, "in Merlin's name, do you jump from my expression proving my ancestry to 'Let's be Animagi'?"

"Hey, we're going to be there soon," James said, blushing.

"Gotta go," Dominique and Molly announced simultaneously.


	2. The Sorting

**A/N: Alison, Sara, and Alexander Nott are mine, as are the other random names of sorted students. Every other person belongs to Jo. This one is (very appropriately and unimaginatively) called The Sorting.**

All of a sudden, the train stopped. The group of eight struggled to grab their trunks and make it off the train without getting too separated. As they made it onto the platform, they heard the call of "Firs' years!" coming from the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid.

"Hey, Hagrid!" James called with a wave. "Take good care of my brother, okay?"

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius walked toward the giant apprehensively.

"Have fun, Al!" James called as he was getting into one of the carriages drawn by invisible thestrals.

"Don't forget," Albus screamed back. "You're supposed to give Neville _love!_"

"Shut up, Al!" was the reply.

Albus was still laughing when he got into a boat on the lake, followed closely by Scorpius and Rose. Another girl stepped into the boat silently.

Emboldened by the presence of his new friends, Scorpius leaned toward her. "Hi, I'm Scorpius. This is Al and this is Rosie. What's your name?"

She looked up at him with her dark eyes and murmured, "Alison."

Alison's reddish brown hair was long; it hung halfway down her back, and she had it up in a careless ponytail. She had a slender build and was small. Her robes were loose; obviously second-hand, as was everything else in her trunk. She eyed her boatmates' new robes and blushed, ashamed of her own appearance. Then she looked across the lake to another boat, where a nearly identical girl was watching her sadly. She smiled weakly at the other girl, then turned back toward her boatmates.

Albus looked excited. "James said we should be able to see the castle soon." he said eagerly, craning his neck for a better view. Rose and Scorpius immediately started looking too.

"We should be comin' up on the castle now!" shouted Hagrid from his own boat.

Alison drew a breath. "I see it!" she said excitedly. She looked at the other boat, where the other girl was staring at the castle with the same wondrous expression Alison had. Then the other girl looked at Alison. They locked eyes and smiled, before turning to stare in awe at the castle again.

As they got out of the boats, Alison hung behind to be reunited with the other girl. Scorpius decided to wait on her; he signalled to Rose and Albus, who also slowed down. When the two girls started walking again, Alison was surprised to see her boatmates waiting on her.

"Friends don't leave friends behind," Scorpius said in response to her wordless question.

The other girl looked at Alison incredulously. "You've got friends already, Ali?" There was a jealous note in the girl's voice. "When did you meet them?"

"In the boat, Sara," Alison said with a sigh. "Everyone, this is my twin sister, Sara. Sara, this is..." she trailed off, unsure of their names.

"Scorpius," volunteered the blond boy, "and Rose and Albus."

Sara met each person's eyes as Scorpius said their names. She and Alison were identical, as far as the other three could see. The only noticeable difference was Sara's favoured haircut; hers only went to the tops of her shoulders, and she wore it down, so it was blowing in the wind on the way to the castle.

"So, what house do you two want to be in, once you get sorted?" Scorpius asked as they started walking again.

The twins looked at each other silently for a moment, then Alison had the courage to speak. "We... er, we're, you know, we don't have any wizard relatives... what's the word again?"

"Oh, Muggle-born," Rose said with a jolt of understanding. "Well, don't worry. My mum was Muggle-born, and she turned out to be like the best in her class, she told me. You'll have friends here, don't worry."

"You want a quick rundown, then?" Albus asked, and then plunged into an explanation without waiting for an answer. "Gryffindors are brave, courageous, you know, like a lion. Ravenclaws are smart and love learning, not that the others don't. Hufflepuffs are patient and loyal, and Slytherins are supposed to be ambitious and cunning."

"Each house has got its own colours and animal mascot," Scorpius added. "Gryffindor's red and gold, and its animal is a lion, like Al said. Slytherins are green and silver, and their symbol is a snake, 'cause Salazar Slytherin, the founder, was a Parselmouth; he could talk to snakes."

Rose jumped in again. "Hufflepuff's the badger, and their colours are yellow and black. And Ravenclaw is bronze and blue with an eagle."

"So, what do you think?" Scorpius asked again.

The twins' eyes were wide. "Do the teachers go that fast?" Sara whispered in fear.

"Get moving," a boy's voice said from behind the group, before he pushed through between Alison and Sara.

"Hey, leave them alone!" Scorpius shouted, causing the boy to turn around.

"Well, I never would have guessed. Malfoy, a Mudblood lover? Merlin, your family's gone to the dumps."

Scorpius didn't hold back. He ran at the other boy, tackled him, and was starting to punch him when Hagrid, who was following the stragglers, came up. He lifted Scorpius off of the other boy with one hand. The boy took one look at Hagrid and got up and ran.

"What was all that abou'?" Hagrid asked the witnesses as he set Scorpius down.

Albus looked up at Hagrid and said, "That boy called the two of them-" he dropped his voice and looked around uneasily "-Mudbloods."

"He's my cousin," Scorpius muttered angrily. "Alexander Nott. His mother's my aunt."

"I've got ter repor' this," Hagrid told them. "Don' worry, I'll tell Professor McGonagall yer side of the story. Yeh'll be fine. Now get on up ter the castle, 'fore yeh get in more trouble."

The group didn't need to be told twice. They ran all the way, not stopping until they were gasping for breath in the entrance hall. They didn't regain their breath until after Professor McGonagall finished her speech and led them into a side room off the entrance hall to wait.

"What house do you guys want to be in?" asked Alison. "Can we choose?"

"Kind of," answered Albus. "My dad says that the Sorting Hat takes your choice into consideration. We decided on the train that since Scorpius's dad'll be angry if he's not in Slytherin, we'll all try for the same house."

"Fine, then we know what to try for," said Alison with a smile. Sara smiled too, but didn't speak.

By that time, McGonagall had returned and was leading the first years out into the Great Hall. There were four long tables that spanned the entire length of the hall and another table at the end for the teachers. The first years looked, amazed, at the starry ceiling. "It's bewitched," Rose explained to the twins. "It reflects whatever the weather's doing outside."

"Wow," Sara whispered in awe.

Professor Flitwick set a stool with an old hat in front of the staff table. All the students' and teachers' attention was riveted on the hat, so the twins confusedly stared at it too. Then a rip opened and the hat started to sing.

"_In previous centuries, it's told_

_That there were four founders of old_

_Who created a school where students with skills_

_Could polish and refine their magic until_

_They were able to break the mould._

"_Rowena Ravenclaw used her brain_

_Creativity and smarts_

_To teach and train her students_

_About all the magical arts_

"_Brave, daring Godric Gryffindor_

_Took the courageous ones_

_And taught them all he knew;_

_All he'd seen and all he'd done._

"_The third founder of this school,_

_Cunning Salazar Slytherin,_

_The most ambitious of them all,_

_Took the students most like him._

"_Sweet Hufflepuff, the patient one_

_Hardworking and loyal to friends_

_Took the other students, nurtured them,_

_And helped them meet their ends._

"_Now they're gone, and I am here_

_To separate you, though it's wrong, I fear._

_They gave me the brains_

_To know your true aims,_

_So now the time for your Sorting is near."_

The entire school applauded the hat as it fell silent. McGonagall stepped forward with a scroll in her hand and announced, "When I call your name, please step forward, place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your respective houses."

As she started calling names, ("Adamson, Andreana") the rest of the first years grew more 

fidgety. The twins, Albus, Scorpius, and Rose stared at each other.

Finally, one member of the group was called. "Cole, Alison" stumbled forward, afraid of what would happen.

"Now," whispered the Sorting Hat in her ear. She nearly jumped out of her seat. "Where should you be?"

"Erm," Alison thought, "would it be too much to ask to be in Slytherin?"

"I suppose not," replied the hat after considering her request for a moment. The rip opened and the hat shouted, "Slytherin!"

Alison jumped off the seat, handed the hat back to McGonagall, and skipped off to the Slytherin table. Sara followed her, having also been placed in Slytherin.

The group of first years slowly dwindled. "Greene... Hall... Lanman..." Soon enough the call for another member of the group came. "Malfoy, Scorpius."

James and the Weasleys cheered him on as he stepped up to the stool. McGonagall, surprised by the unusual display of friendship, didn't hand him the hat, so he was forced to tug it out of her hands and jam it on his head. As the laughing students disappeared from his view, the hat considered him, and shouted, "Slytherin!" He whipped the hat off his head, sighed with relief, and gave the thumbs-up to Albus and Rose as he went to sit with the twins.

"Nott, Alexander" was next. He, too, was placed in Slytherin.

"Oberon, Telesto," a black-haired girl who only looked about eight or nine, was called next and placed in Ravenclaw.

Eventually, the next call the group was waiting for had come. "Potter..." McGonagall paused before reading the student's given name. She shook her head hopelessly and finished, "...Albus."

Al sat on the stool and begged for Slytherin.

"Are you sure?" the hat asked him. "Didn't your father beg not to be in Slytherin?"

"I want to be in Slytherin," Al thought again.

"Oh, fine. You lot are so picky." the hat replied before announcing "Slytherin!" again.

"I told you you'd be in Slytherin," James shouted to his brother from the Gryffindor table. Albus just laughed and went to sit with his friends.

"When's Rosie going?" Scorpius asked him impatiently.

"She's a Weasley, idiot," Albus said. "They call people alphabetically, so she'll be near last."

As it happened, Al was wrong. Rose was dead last. But she was placed in Slytherin, too, so the group didn't care.

McGonagall gave the usual start-of-term speech, introducing the teachers, and outlining the basic rules of the castle. Food appeared on the tables, and everyone ate until they got full and went off to bed.

**A/N: By the way, I'm very proud of my first ever Sorting Hat song. I wrote it myself, so it sucks, but I like it.**


	3. A History Lesson

**Sorry, I wanted Andromeda to have a part in it. And again, I do not own any of the characters except the ones I own. Anyway, this one's kind of short, but I swear the next one will be longer. This one's called A History Lesson.**

Technically, five students didn't go to bed. Albus, Scorpius, Rose, Alison, and Sara stayed in the Slytherin common room, chatting.

"I read about the Second War in one of the books I got," Alison said. "What do you know about it?"

"Our parents were in it," Albus stated proudly. "And our aunts and uncles and stuff."

"Really?" Sara asked. "Are their names in the books, or..."

"They should be," Rose answered. "Any Weasleys in the books were in the war. Harry Potter; Hermione Granger; Remus Lupin and Nymphadora, they were Teddy's parents."

"They were killed in the final battle," Scorpius said. "And Fred Weasley, too, I think."

"Yeah, the books mentioned that," Alison agreed.

"What about you?" Sara asked Scorpius. "Did you have any relatives in the war?"

"Well," he started. "Er, my dad's name is Draco, and my granddad and grandma are Lucius and Narcissa."

"Narcissa?" Alison asked. "Like Narcissa Malfoy who lied to Voldemort?"

"Yeah," Scorpius seized on that topic with relief.

"Most of Scorpius's relatives were on the evil side," whispered Rose confidentially to the twins. "He doesn't like talking about it; he thinks we'll hate him for it, but we know he's not like that."

"It says in the book-" Alison started, trying to find the page she wanted to read off of, "-that the Malfoys switched sides before the war was over."

"It says that 'cause Dad vouched for them after Narcissa saved his life," Albus explained.

"She did?" Scorpius asked. "No one ever talks about it at home."

"Yeah, Dad said he was trying to give himself up to Voldemort to keep everyone else safe," Albus said, "but somehow it didn't work. The Killing Curse didn't kill him again. And when Voldemort sent Narcissa to check whether Dad was dead, she told him that Dad was, and then they all went back up to the castle-"

"Hang on," Alison interrupted, "they fought _here_?"

"Yeah," Albus answered, before continuing his story. "And when they went back to the castle, Neville killed Voldemort's snake with Gryffindor's sword that he pulled out of the Sorting Hat."

"And now Neville teaches here," Rose added. "He said he'd even make _us _call him Professor Longbottom, and he teaches Herbology."

"Yeah," Albus agreed, "and then they all fought in the Great Hall, and Bellatrix Lestrange tried to kill my mum and Rose's mum and Luna, and then Grandma fought her and killed her. And then Dad killed Voldemort," he finished proudly.

"You kids should be in bed," said a voice from behind them. The Head of Slytherin House entered the common room, and Albus's eyes widened.

"Andromeda!" he shouted, racing up to her and hugging her.

"That's Professor Tonks to you, Mr. Potter," she teased.

"Are you going to insist on that?" Al asked her with an innocent look on his face.

She sighed and answered, "In public, at least."

"So, is Teddy here?" Rose asked Andromeda.

"_Assistant Professor Lupin_ is teaching Defence this year," Andromeda replied. "And I'm afraid I'll have to insist on you calling him that. Min's being really strict about it, you know, with him being just out of Hogwarts and all." She smiled at them. "Which reminds me, Scorpius Malfoy, the Headmistress wants to see you. And Alexander Nott; where is he?"

"In the dormitory," Scorpius answered. "Does he have to come too?"

"I suppose so, Min asked for him, too," Andromeda said after a moment.

"I'm not going anywhere with that blood traitor," said Nott, appearing in the doorway leading to the boys dormitories.

"You watch your mouth, Nott," snarled Andromeda, pointing her wand at him. "And you can guarantee that the Headmistress will hear about your foul language."

The twins stared at each other in confusion again, then to Rose and Albus, who were both glaring at Nott with an intense dislike.

"Come, Nott. You too, Scorpius," Andromeda said through barely controlled fury.

"Do you want us to come too," Albus asked, "since we saw it happen?"

Andromeda's features softened as she turned to Albus. "Not right now," she replied. "Just don't go to sleep, in case I come back, okay?"

She left, holding Nott's arm in her hand and letting Scorpius follow on her other side. The twins watched her exit, then looked back at Rose, who seemed to be taking Nott's insult exceptionally hard.

"There's some wizards," explained Albus, watching Rose carefully, "who think they're better than Muggles and Muggle-borns because they're pureblood. Like Nott. Back in the war, most of those wizards were on the Dark side, with Voldemort. They didn't even want to associate with other purebloods who were friends with Muggle-borns or Muggles. They called them blood traitors. So, technically, that makes us Potters and Weasleys blood traitors because we don't hate Muggles. And Andromeda's a blood traitor, too. She married a Muggle-born. That's why she can't stand hearing it. None of us can, really. Thankfully, there's not many around who still think that way."

"What about... er, whatever he called us earlier?" Sara asked.

"It's another part of how they think," said Rose quietly. Her voice was remarkably calm, considering her hands were clenched so hard that they had turned white, and she was shaking with repressed anger. "Mudblood. It's what they call Muggle-borns. It pretty much means dirty blood, common blood. Because they considered Muggle-borns inferior to them. And apparently, some of them still do."

Albus silently walked over to his cousin and gave her a hug. She immediately started crying and collapsed in his arms, causing him to fall over. Sara and Alison sat down on either side of the two.


	4. In Trouble

**This is my fourth chapter in Prejudices. (obviously) Once again, I don't own any of these awesome people; Jo (who is even more awesome) does. And I lied last chapter. This one's kind of short, too, but the next one will be longer. I promise. This one's called **_**In Trouble**_**. Again, please r/r.**

Andromeda led Scorpius and Nott to the Head's office. She didn't even pause in front of the gargoyle; she gave the password and continued moving until she was up in McGonagall's office, and even then, she didn't let go of Nott's arm, no matter how much he twisted.

"Minerva," she called. "I brought Malfoy and Nott."

McGonagall walked to her desk and conjured two hard-backed chairs facing her.

"Sit down, boys," she said.

Only then did Andromeda release her vicelike grip on Nott's arm. The two boys slowly sat down on the uncomfortable seats.

"Now, Nott," McGonagall started. "Tell me, in your own words, what happened on the grounds earlier today."

Nott glared at Scorpius and said, "My cousin made new friends on the train ride here, and he wouldn't let me hang out with him anymore. He pushed me down and started punching me."

"That is not what happened," Scorpius accused.

"Fine, tell me your view, Mr. Malfoy."

"I was walking up to Hogwarts with Rose, Al, Alison, and Sara. We were talking about what house we wanted to be in. Then Nott pushed in between Alison and Sara, and I told him to leave them alone. He called me a Mudblood lover, and I got so angry that I guess I started punching him. You can ask any of them. That's what happened."

"Hmm," said McGonagall. "Professor Tonks, can you find the four students with whom Malfoy says he was walking. I'd like to question them."

"Certainly," Andromeda replied, and with a swish of her cloak, she left the room.

Five minutes later, she was climbing back into the Slytherin common room, where she saw the four students sitting in the middle of the room.

"Al, Rose, Alison, and Sara," she said, just loudly enough for them to hear her. "Professor McGonagall wishes to see you."

Rose sniffled and looked up. The others followed suit.

"Look, Rosie," Andromeda started, walking to the group of students and kneeling down. "There's always going to be people who don't agree with what you believe. Trust me, I know. I've lived with being a blood traitor for most of my life. And I don't really regret it, either. No, look at me, Rose." The girl had looked down at her lap. "Listen to me. The people who matter are those who love you. No matter what. Your family and your friends. No one else is even worth your time. Nott? He isn't worth your time. Don't worry about him. Okay?"

Rose broke into a weak smile. "Okay," she murmured as she stood up. "Okay," she repeated. "Let's get Scorpius out of trouble."

"Yeah," the others shouted.

"Shh," Andromeda pleaded. "Others are trying to sleep."

She walked them all out of the Slytherin common room and to the Headmistress's office in silence. As they walked in, Andromeda went straight to McGonagall and whispered, "Rose was upset because Nott made a comment concerning blood traitors before I got him here." McGonagall nodded wordlessly. She gestured for Andromeda to take Scorpius and Nott out of the room. Once they had left, Andromeda's hand once again closed on Nott's arm, McGonagall conjured two more chairs and asked the students to sit down.

She eyed the portraits of previous headmasters before speaking again, and enunciated her next words carefully to get the attention of some of them.

"Albus Severus Potter." She watched the two men in the portraits stir with a smile on her face. "Will you please tell me, Mr. Potter, what happened tonight?"

"Well, we were walking with Scorpius; all four of us were, and then Nott tells us to get moving or something. Then he shoved Sara and Alison out of the way and barged through. Scorpius told him to leave them alone, and Nott called him a... er, a Mudblood lover. Scorpius tackled him and started trying to punch him, and then Hagrid came."

"Now, I can't help this," McGonagall admitted. "Tell me, Mr. Potter, who you were named after, 

and why."

"Er, my dad said I was named after two Hogwarts headmasters. And he said one of them was a Slytherin and he was about the bravest man my dad ever knew," Al said self-consciously.

"Hear that, Severus?" asked the bearded man in the portrait directly behind McGonagall. "The bravest man Harry ever knew."

"Yes, Severus," McGonagall said to the portrait of Snape. "It seems Harry has forgiven you."

Snape just glared at her.

"Now," McGonagall said briskly, "back to business. Miss Weasley, did Albus give an accurate account of what happened?

"Yes, that's exactly what happened."

"It is," echoed both Alison and Sara.

"Very well, tell Professor Tonks to bring the boys back in."

When Andromeda walked back in with the two boys, McGonagall said, "I have heard several tales concerning what happened in the grounds earlier. All but one of them seemed to agree completely. Mr. Nott, you lied to me. That, in addition to your provocation, will earn you two detentions, and I will be writing to your parents. Mr. Malfoy, whether you were provoked or not, fighting is against Hogwarts rules. However, I believe your intentions were more honourable than most; therefore, I will give you one detention and write to your parents. Now, off to bed."

Andromeda led the six students back to the Slytherin common room and told them to go to sleep.

"You've all got a big day tomorrow. I want you rested up."


	5. The First Day

**So, yeah. Chapter five. The characters of my creation are entirely fictional, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely unintentional and coincidental. Same goes for Jo's characters, except the whole "of my creation" thing. Please r/r. It really does help. And thank you, everyone who has already read and enjoyed my fic.**

**Chapter five: The First Day**

Scorpius and Al were up first, with the exception of Nott, who had already torn out of the room. They got dressed and went to their common room to wait on the girls.

"I wonder what classes we'll have today," Albus mused, half to himself.

"Andromeda knows, I'm sure," Scorpius said. "She told us we had a big day. I bet we have Potions first thing, and then maybe Transfiguration or Herbology."

"I can't wait for Defence Against the Dark Arts," Albus said excitedly.

"Me either," Rose agreed; she had just made it to the common room, followed closely by the twins.

Sara had a dark green headband holding her hair out of her face, and Alison's hair was back in her ponytail, held this time by two hair bands: a green one and a silver one. They both smiled shyly.

"Now what?" Alison asked the boys.

"We're supposed to go find the Great Hall to eat, and then we'll get our schedules," Albus stated knowledgeably. "James said that's what they did last year."

"Does anyone know how to get there?" Scorpius asked. "I think I'd get lost."

Alison turned to Sara and gestured for her to lead the way. "Sara's never gotten lost in her life," Alison explained. The rest of the group followed Sara directly to the Great Hall; true to Alison's word, they didn't get lost. As they walked in, McGonagall stood up to make an announcement.

"Will all the students please return to your own house tables for this morning?" she asked. "We'll need to pass out the class schedules, and it's much easier if you are sitting by house."

"Let's go," Scorpius said to the rest of the group, as they went to the Slytherin table.

"We'll introduce you to our cousins later," Rose told the twins with a smile. The twins nodded.

Food appeared once again on the house tables, and several owls flew in as the students were eating. One owl landed right in front of Scorpius with a red envelope that was smoking at the corners.

"Oh, no," he breathed.

"Run, Scorpius," Rose urged. He didn't need telling twice. He grabbed the envelope and ran for it. However, he didn't get far. The envelope burst in his hands and a magically magnified woman's voice filled the hall, which had become silent.

"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY, HOW DARE YOU GET INTO A FIGHT! AND ON THE FIRST DAY! YOU WEREN'T RAISED LIKE THAT; I KNOW YOU WEREN'T."

A man's voice mingled with hers at this point.

"YOU'RE BRINGING SHAME TO THE MALFOY FAMILY! WHAT YOU DO REFLECTS ON US; 

NOW DAPHNE IS SCREAMING AT US, AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

The voices continued screaming for a few minutes and left a ringing silence when they were finished. Scorpius stood alone in the middle of the Great Hall, shaking. Rose threw her legs over the bench, jumped up, and ran up to Scorpius to give him a hug.

Albus explained to the twins, "It's a Howler. It's about the worst thing parents can send their kids at Hogwarts. It's humiliating, mainly."

"And the owls," Alison said slowly, "they deliver mail, right?"

"Yep," Albus said, gesturing to James to come to the Slytherin table.

"What, little bro?" James asked impatiently when he arrived.

"Write Dad," Al ordered angrily. "None of it was Scorpius's fault; Nott called them, er, you know..."

"Mudbloods?" James asked quietly. "Okay, what do you want me to tell him, and more importantly, why can't you do it?"

"Tell him that Scorpius's dad and mum sent him a Howler because he punched a kid who used that word. And ask him to explain the whole story."

"And why can't you do it?" James asked again. "I'm kind of busy."

Al glared at his older brother as James walked back to the Gryffindor table to sit with his cousins.

"Get back to your house tables," ordered McGonagall again. "The Heads of House are now ready to distribute the schedules."

Rose and Scorpius went back to sit with Al and the twins as Andromeda and the other Heads descended from the staff table with several pieces of parchment in their hands.

"Tell me your name and year when I get to you," Andromeda announced as she started at the front end of the table. When she got to the five first-years sitting together, she smiled. "I'll write Narcissa, if you want me to," Andromeda whispered kindly to Scorpius. "She can send your dad a Howler."

She tapped five blank sheets of parchment with her wand and handed them to the students.

"Sally Pierce," said the next student, who was sitting next to Albus. "I'm a fifth year."

"Prefect, that's right," muttered Andromeda to herself. "In Arithmancy, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures, right?"

"Yes," the girl replied, taking her newly filled out schedule from Andromeda.

"Er," Albus said to the girl as Andromeda moved on, "We're supposed to go to-" he consulted his schedule "-Transfiguration. But I think we'll get lost if we try to go it alone."

Sally smiled at him. "I'll show you," she promised. "It's on the way to my Defence class."

"Thanks," Rose murmured, embarrassedly.

"We've got it with the Gryffindors," Scorpius said after looking at his own schedule. The students got up quickly and followed Sally to the Transfiguration classroom, where they were ushered in by none other than Susan Bones, the new Transfiguration teacher and Head of Hufflepuff. She smiled at Albus 

and Rose as they entered.

When all of the students had settled themselves at their desks, Susan introduced herself and took roll. She lectured the students on the importance of paying attention, especially in Transfiguration, and then had them take pages and pages of notes. After the students finished writing, she handed each of them a match and told them to try turning it into a needle.

Sara took out her wand, glanced at her notes, which she had condensed into only three-quarters of a page, murmured an incantation, and flicked the wand casually at the match. It immediately took on the appearance of a needle.

"How did you do it so fast?" Alison asked her jealously. "Professor Bones," she called, raising her hand. "Sara did it already."

Susan came over to investigate and smiled widely. "Five points to Slytherin," she said to Sara. "Everyone, Miss Cole's already done it. It's not impossible; just keep trying."

Sara turned to her friends after Susan moved away and said, "It's easy. All you've got to do is concentrate on making it take the shape of a needle, and then say the incantation for inanimate objects."

"Really?" Alison asked, confused.

"It's what Professor Bones said," Sara stated matter-of-factly.

"I didn't understand half of what she said," Alison admitted quietly.

"Here," Sara said, picking up her paper, "read my notes. They make a lot more sense."

Alison read the paper and then silently passed it to Scorpius as she raised her own wand and attempted to Transfigure her own match. It didn't turn into a needle; however, it did turn silver. She grinned and turned to watch the other three.

After class was over, and every single one in the group had managed to make some difference to the match, they met up with the rest of the Weasleys over break.

"We've met her already," said Alison, pointing at Victoire. "She came into our compartment and said she was Head Girl."

"She's my cousin," Rose said with an embarrassed blush. "She's really annoying sometimes, too. That's her sister, the other blonde over there, Dominique, and her brother Louis."

"Yeah," Albus interjected. "And the redhead with Dominique is our cousin, and hers, Molly. They act really strange when they're together, like they're two of the same person."

"You mean like Sara and I act when we're nervous," Alison clarified.

"And that's Lucy, the other redhead over there," Rose started explaining again. "Molly's sister. She's talking to Roxanne, Uncle George's daughter."

Scorpius joined in cheerfully, "And there with Louis is Fred. He's Roxie's brother, a fourth year."

"And isn't that your brother, Al?" asked Sara.

"Yeah, that's James," Albus replied. "He's a second year, like Roxie, but he's in Gryffindor with Fred and Victoire, and she's in Hufflepuff with Louis. He's a fourth year, just like Fred. Lucy's in Ravenclaw with the rest of them, and she's a third year."

"And Molly's a fifth year, and Dominique is sixth, right?" questioned Scorpius.

"Yep," Rose answered cheerfully. "See, you aren't too bad with names, are you?"

The group heard James simultaneously planning a prank on Professor McGonagall with Fred, and discussing his Herbology lesson with Louis.

"Hey, James," Al shouted with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "have you given Neville love yet?"

"Shut UP, AL!" James shouted back, obviously flustered by Al's pestering.

"So, I'll take it as a 'no,' then, right?" Al asked his brother. "Do you want me to do it for you? We've got Herbology next."

"If it'll get you to leave me alone," James said, annoyed.

All of a sudden, the helpful girl from earlier swooped down on them. "Did you find your way back okay?" Sally asked the first years.

"

No, we're wandering the halls, lost, miles away from here," Alison replied immediately before dissolving into laughter.

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny," said the fifth year. "A regular comedienne."

"Sorry," Sara apologized for her sister, who had fallen on the ground and was clutching her chest with tears running down her face. "She can't help herself sometimes."

"Well, there's people here who'll hex her for it, so she'd better learn to help herself," Sally replied angrily, before smiling. "So, how was your first lesson? What did you do, matches into needles?"

"Yeah," Alison said, no longer laughing, "and Sara got it perfectly on her first try."

"Dost mine ears deceive me?" asked Louis, who had come up behind the group. "You didn't just say that a first year Transfigured perfectly in her first ever lesson, did you?"

"Er," Sara said, blushing from the sudden amount of attention focused on her. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Yeah," Rose added enthusiastically. "And then she passed her notes around, and believe me, they were a lot easier to understand than the ones the rest of us took, and then all of us could almost do it, too, but she was the best."

"See, Sara," Alison said to her sister. "You thought you'd be out of place here, but now even the older kids can't believe it."

"Hey," James interjected. "Do you think she could be an Animagus? Wouldn't that be cool?"

"James, shut up about Animagi," Louis growled.

"What's an Animagus?" Alison and Sara both asked simultaneously.

"Basically," Louis explained as he rolled his eyes at James, "It's when a wizard can change into an animal. But if you do an ordinary Transfiguration, you'll end up with the animal's brain, which doesn't do you any good. But an Animagus can somehow, I don't know how, but they can keep their brain when they change into an animal."

"That sounds interesting," mused Sara.

"Maybe," Louis allowed, "but it's really dangerous. It could go horribly wrong if you don't know what you're doing.

Then the bell rang, and everyone tried to rush inside to their next classes at the same time, causing a bit of a traffic jam at the door.

"Do you want me to take you to Herbology?" Louis asked the first years. "I'm going to Care of Magical Creatures. It's not really out of the way. Follow me."

In Herbology, it was just the Slytherins. Neville Longbottom, the Herbology teacher, led them inside Greenhouse One and took roll in there. "Blatherman… Cole… and Cole… Greenwater…" He paused longer before he read Malfoy's name, and before Nott's. "And Al and Rose." he finished, rolling up the parchment. "Now, welcome, first year Slytherins, to Greenhouse One. You'll be in here most of the year, excepting of course, during written tests. As there are many different varieties of plants, and as some of them are dangerous, I need you to pay attention and DON'T TOUCH THAT!" he shouted at Basil Blatherman, who was fingering one of the plants.

Neville ran forward and yanked the boy's hand away before the Devil's Snare was able to get a firm hold on him. The plant reached forward, trying to find the boy's arm again. Neville pulled out his wand and shot a thin line of flames at the plant, so it recoiled.

"Five points from Slytherin," he told the boy. "Now pay attention, like I told you to." He faced the class again. "This is Devil's Snare," he started. "If you touch it, it'll try to strangle you, so stay away. There are several other plants which could hurt you as well, so, for your safety, I don't tolerate horseplay in this class. If you start shoving each other around or goofing off, I will send you straight to the Headmistress. Are there any questions?"

"What if we don't know where the Headmistress's office is?" Blatherman asked cheekily.

"I know where it is," Sara volunteered. "I've been in there before, and I never get lost once I've been somewhere."

"Any real questions?" Neville chose to ignore Blatherman, instead addressing the other students.

Rose raised her hand. "Er, Professor?" she asked timidly. "You mentioned something about written tests. I was wondering, like, how often will we have tests, and will you give warning?"

Neville nodded. "Normally, I start first years off with a written test every couple weeks, and as you progress, there will be less written work and more hands-on activities. And I normally don't give much warning, because I expect you to be looking over your notes and stuff a little every day. However, I will give you a day's warning, to remind you to bring a quill and parchment and tell you where we will be meeting for the next lesson."

Alison raised her hand. "What kinds of hands-on things do we do?"

"Basically," Neville answered, "general plant care, some harvesting of materials, that kind of stuff. I'll start you guys off with basic identification and where everything goes. By the way," he said as the bell rang (it wasn't a double period), "I want you to have your quills and parchment every day for the next couple of weeks. And your copies of _1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi_. You're all dismissed."

Albus and his group hung around while Neville cleaned up around the Devil's Snare. When he saw them, he straightened up and said, "What, Al? Is everything all right?"

"Er, yeah," he said quickly. "I just wanted to tell you that, er, Mum and Dad sent their love to you."

"Oh, well, thanks," Neville replied. "Now, get going, you don't want to be late."

"For what?" Rose asked. "Lunch?"

Neville looked at her for a beat and then answered with a smile, "Yes, of course. You don't want all of the best food to be gone. Especially if you're planning on sitting with your cousins."


End file.
